Читать книгу A Companion to the Hellenistic and Roman Near East онлайн

68 страница из 236

This crisis of royal authority led to an increase in the general insecurity, to the point where the inhabitants of Antioch, as well as those in other cities, sought out effective protectors. Those in Damascus thought they found one in Aretas III of Nabataea, whose kingdom extended all the way to the Hauran, and who occupied the Damascus region (84–72 BCE) to counter the threats of Ptolemy son of Mennaeus, the brigand chief who dominated the interior of Lebanon. The inhabitants of Antioch sought a protector further afield: they did not hesitate to ask Tigranes of Armenia to take control of the entire kingdom, which he did without major difficulties (only Seleucia in Pieria remained impenetrable to him) starting in 83 BCE. Rome could not have been happy to see the son-in-law of her main enemy, Mithridates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, burst into Syria at the very moment she was fighting against the king. But Rome did not have the means to lead both combats at the same time and was obliged to let Tigranes act. Tigranes nevertheless was forced to leave Syria when Lucullus waged war on Armenia (69 BCE). Two Seleucid offspring, Philip II and Antiochus XIII, took advantage of this to reestablish their own power and restart a fratricidal war. The anarchy in Syria seemed destined to begin again.